September 7, 2007 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

eveningsout

A mediocre documentary with an annoying subject

by Anthony Glassman

There are documentary films, views of snatches of life through the eye of the camera, intended to be The Truth.

There are mockumentaries, humorous looks at subjects in which the truth (no capitals) is portrayed in a humorous light.

Somewhere in between, there is Nick Name and the Normals, a... crockumentary, for lack of a better word, about a recovering gay Mormon who becomes a punk rock singer before crashing and burning.

Kent James was a typical Mormon boy in Utah, sent to Argentina on mission to convert the heathens. While spending a year and a half there, he began to see the overweening hypocrisy of his religion, trying to tell people who lived in huts with dirt floors that becoming members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints would make everything all better.

While he still hadn't come to grips with his burgeoning homosexuality at this point, he broke away from the church after returning from mission, later settling in Nashville, where he began recording country music.

After that, he moved to Los Angeles, where, away from the requisite heterosexuality of the honky-tonks, he could come out, be himself, and slam some punk rock in everyone's faces. He became Nick Name, and experienced about 13 of his Warholian 15 minutes of fame.

One of his songs appeared in a truly mediocre gay horror film, and he performed two songs on an MTV series.

However, his own bipolar nature and inability to play nicely with others take their toll, and spell the end of the era of Nick Name and the Normals.

Directed, written, edited and produced by Howie Skora, the film, now out on DVD,

Nick Name

is occasionally humorous but often annoying.

James as Nick Name is a jackass, pure and simple. He explodes at the audience, whether or not they deserve it. He explodes at his band mates, who seemingly never deserve it. He explodes at his long-suffering manager, who by rights should have gotten a gun and shot him long ago.

Watching the movie, it's hard to imagine Jesus turning the other cheek when presented with Nick Name.

Yet somehow his band mates do manage to get by, viewing his tantrums as theatricality, a source of amusement.

Two of the three band mates are a heterosexual couple, and they're absolutely adorable. The viewer has no choice but to ask: How the hell did they get involved with Mr. Crazy-pants over there?

Two members of an earlier band he was in, Helmut and Ryzie, are also interviewed in the film. They are not fond of his punkrock persona either, pointing to his earlier, quieter, more melodic music.

It is a difficult film to sit through. The sheer ass-hattedness of Nick Name makes

Define your life.

the documentary painful, and it's hard to tell how much of it is put on for the sake of the camera.

And while one could not in good conscience recommend spending money on this film, it's doubtful it would ever make it to, say, Logo, since they'd have to bleep out every other word. Nick is fond of his profanity.

For more information about Kent, who earlier this year released his Decade of Dirt CD compiling the Nick Name songs and newer material, go to www.kentjames.com. For more about the film, go to www.nicknamemovie.com.

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